[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 63 (Monday, April 17, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Senator Feinstein

  Mr. CORNYN. Well, Mr. President, we are now back in session after a 
busy 2-week recess where I know many of us were traveling in our States 
or parts of the world and attending to our duties here in the Senate in 
various capacities. But now we are back here in Washington, DC, and it 
appears to me that we have a whole lot we need to do before the Fourth 
of July recess.
  But before we begin the day-to-day task of legislating, the majority 
leader, it is reported, is expected to ask for some personnel changes 
in the Senate.
  Senator Feinstein, our colleague from California, has been out for a 
couple of months due to some health issues--not an uncommon occurrence 
here in the Senate, and I know the entire Senate joins me in wishing 
her a quick recovery and a speedy return here to the Senate.
  But given the tight margins in this Chamber, her absence has created 
some complications for Senator Schumer within the Senate Judiciary 
Committee on which I serve.
  Without her vote, our Democratic colleagues are simply unable to 
advance the most controversial and partisan judicial nominees whom the 
President has selected.
  Given the lack of Republican support, these partisan nominees simply 
cannot move to the Senate floor for a vote. To get around the issue, 
Senator Schumer has come up with a unique proposal. He wants to 
temporarily replace Senator Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee.
  The idea is to remove her from the committee for an unspecified 
period of time, name a replacement, and then reinstate Senator 
Feinstein when she returns. This is, it turns out, unprecedented. Over 
the years, Senators from both sides, as I indicated a moment ago, have 
needed time away due to various health issues. Never, not once, have we 
allowed temporary substitutes on committees, and now is not the time to 
start.
  Republicans are not going to break this precedent in order to bail 
out Senator Schumer or the Biden administration's most controversial 
nominees. Yesterday evening, the majority leader said he spoke with 
Senator Feinstein, and she hopes she will be back soon. We all hope 
that she comes back soon.
  But it is another reason not to go along with Senator Schumer's ploy 
for temporary appointment of a member of the Judiciary Committee. 
Senator Feinstein has been a mainstay of this body for more than three 
decades, and I hope to see her back in these Halls soon.
  But until then, President Biden's most controversial partisan 
judicial nominees will have to wait.